Original subtitles

Welcome to the show. Still coming to you from this blank void, which has started

to feel a bit like home. And to be honest, it is pretty similar to England

in that it's frustratingly white, immediately depressing, and I want to

get out of it as quickly as possible.

Look, it's been another busy week. Cher turned 75, the House voted to create an

independent commission to investigate the Capitol assault, and the Supreme

Court did this.

The Supreme Court says it will take up the most direct challenge to Roe v. Wade

in a generation this fall. At issue, a Mississippi law that would ban almost

all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

It's similar to bans recently passed in other conservative-leaning states, all

designed to get the newly conservative Supreme Court to confront Roe v.

Wade head-on. Yup.

The thing conservatives have been trying to do for decades now is finally

happening. Rolling back abortion rights is pretty much the reason the country

had to watch a human beer bong scream and cry during a job interview, the

reason everyone freaked out when an 87-year-old woman died, and the reason

why the president and half his inner circle all got COVID in the Rose Garden.

Wasn't that a fun couple of days?

All of that was building up to this depressingly significant moment.

And states have been pushing the envelope hard when it comes to limiting

abortion, with the latest attempt coming... just this week in Texas.

Texas has just adopted one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the

nation. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill yesterday. It bans the

procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy before many women even know

they're pregnant.

Well, that's infuriating and made somehow even worse by the fact that they

seem to cram the few women in the room right behind Abbott and then let what

can only be described as a Joseph A. Bank of Men fill in everywhere else. You

usually don't see that many... in suits lined up to disappoint women unless it's

the first night of the bachelorette. And for many behind that bill, including one

of its sponsors, state senator Charles Schwartner, restricting access to

abortion has long been a priority.

In 2017, he silenced a witness testifying against an earlier anti

-abortion bill so hard, his gavel broke the glass tabletop of his desk. Take a

look. SB 415 inserts itself into the exam room by putting physicians in the

unconscionable position of having to deny a woman the evidence-based

compassionate care that results in the fewest complications.

I want to remind you all, especially the doctors on this committee, that a vote

for this bill puts women's lives on the line. I urge you all to stop playing

with reproductive health care as if it's your own political puppet.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Your time is done.

Wow. You know what they say, women are too emotional to make decisions about

their own bodies. Best leave it to a level-headed, reasonable man who hulks

out on his desk at work. Because just look at what that fucking gavel did.

In every way, that's the exact opposite of what's meant by breaking the glass

ceiling. And there will clearly be much more to say on this story as it unfolds.

But for now, let's try and take a look at news that isn't actively depressing.

And here's one. In Philadelphia, Larry Krasner, the reform DA, won a hotly

contested primary, and Krasner's victory was by no means assured.

The police union backed his opponent in the primary, and he's come under attack

for bold reforms, like vowing to never pursue a death sentence, reduce the

number of people sent to prison by seeking alternatives to incarceration,

and to stop illegal stop and frisk, reform cash bail, and... and end the

abuse of civil asset forfeiture, which is a striking set of promises,

especially coming from a guy whose face-sweater combo whispers, I've got

audio books on vinyl.

Now, Krasner still has to face a Republican in the general election,

specifically this man, Charles Peruto, who is a lot.

His platform is the antithesis of Krasner's, and he said, my first line of

business is to meet with every police captain.

I want to have my wife cook them dinner while also releasing this video.

I was born and raised in West Philadelphia, 64th and Jefferson.

I was born in a mixed neighborhood.

I loved it.

Ironically enough, the kid I hung out with every day was Michael Jackson.

He didn't sing, but he played hoops. I understand black people just about as

well as a black person. I'm not gonna say equal, but pretty good.

Okay. That guy sitting in that office saying he understands black people as

well as any black person isn't great, even if he does slightly walk it back by

saying, I'm not gonna say equal, but pretty good. A level of nuance not seen

since Plessy versus Ferguson.

The whole video is 35 minutes long and shot in a single take with real, no one

in my family wants to listen to me anymore, so they showed me how to use a

webcam energy.

And look.

Peruto is unlikely to win, but he does speak to the post-Trump trend where

extreme cartoonishness isn't a deal breaker for candidates, it's a selling

point. Take Missouri's Mark McCloskey, who you might remember as the man who

pointed a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters while somehow making a polo

shirt look slutty. Well, this week, he declared his candidacy for Senate with

this ad.

When the angry mob came to destroy my house and kill my family, I took a stand

against them.

Now I'm asking for the privilege to take that stand for all of us.

I will never back down.

Okay, setting aside the fact McCluskey looks like what you get if Sean Hannity

fucked a packing peanut, when the mob came to destroy my house and my family,

get over yourself, McCluskey.

Those were protesters walking past your yard on their way to the mayor's house.

No one cared about you until you started waving guns in their face. And quick

side note, if there are nationwide protests against racism and your first

response is, they're coming for me, maybe think about what that says about

you. And I would say McCluskey's was the most ridiculous campaign announcement

this week, were it not for the fact that Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy, is now

running for governor of New York. And even Fox News pointed out he's doing so

on the thinnest possible resume.

One of the things that's being asked about you is if you have the experience

to take on the job of governor. You worked at the Trump White House for four

years and were a professional golfer before that. The truth is, Martha, from

an experience perspective, I may be 35 years old, but you've got to remember, I

spent 32 years, parts of 32 years, in politics and in government.

I'm the only announced candidate that actually has spent parts of five decades

in politics.

So I may look young.

but I certainly feel a lot older.

Okay. There is a lot to take apart and put back together there. One, do you

think you look young? Because if I had to guess your age, I'd put you somewhere

between unhealthy 45 and lying about in early retirement to avoid a sexual

harassment settlement becoming public.

Also... Why would you claim to have been in politics since you were three years

old? Unless you're counting being violently held by your father during his

failed 1989 mayoral campaign while dressed as business Chucky. Are you

counting that?

And even calling Giuliani a professional golfer needs more context, because his

career highlights include being kicked off the Duke golf team for bad behavior,

like allegedly throwing an apple into another player's face so hard, the apple

exploded. And then, appearing on a golf-themed reality competition called

The Big Break, where he was clearly typecast as the annoying one.

Andrew Giuliani, he's talking.

That's all he does. I mean, he's just, you know, kind of talking everyone up

and, you know, doing... Being Andrew, pretty much.

I know he was talking a lot.

Nice ball there.

Did that hit the tree?

Did that hit the tree?

This is impressive.

I know a few guys were getting irritated, including myself.

That's a tree. You're telling me that's not a tree right there? Are you kidding

me? That's totally a tree. I mean, he would talk to this door if it had ears.

He knows he talks too much, and we all tell him he does, but it almost makes

him, I feel like, he wants to talk more.

Andrew Giuliani is a nightmare.

Imagine being the worst person on a golf reality show.

And it's hard to imagine Giuliani winning the support of the entire state

of New York, when it seems he can't even win the support of all these future

absentee fathers.

In other words, his base.

And yes, Andrew Giuliani is ridiculous.

All these candidates are ridiculous.

But if the last few years have taught us anything, it's that ridiculous people

can end up getting elected.

Just three years ago, we did a piece on state attorneys general, and in it, we

highlighted Angela Paxton, the wife of Texas' AG.

Just listen to his wife proudly describing Paxton's love for lawsuits in

what apparently I legally have to call a song.

I'm a pistol packin' mama, and my husband sues Obama. I'm a pistol packin'

mama, yes I am.

A few things you can glean from that clip.

That woman has a gun, a litigious husband, and no future in music

whatsoever. And I have somehow aged 30 years since 2018.

A truly uncomfortable watch for many reasons.

But not long after that segment aired, Angela Paxton was elected to the Texas

State Senate. There she is, standing behind Governor Abbott this week as he

signed Texas' abortion bill. The point is, yes...

These people look like clowns. They are clowns, but it's important to remember

that clowns, while funny, are also fucking terrifying.

And this week gave us another reminder that if you are not very careful, you

can wind up with a clown car full of them making incredibly important

decisions about your life. And now, this.

And now, San Francisco City Council meeting's public comments are a joy to

behold. Now it's time for public comment.

Are there any members of the public who would like to address this board during

general public comment? Please come on up, step forward.

Buenos dias, buongiorno, buongiorno, ohio, yasan, kitiko, shalom, cheerios,

gutamagin, adubo uto, salam, good morning America, the view.

What I see here are a number of representatives who worship Lucifer.

Tobacco is great at getting bed bugs away from your bed. People don't realize

that.

Some of y'all are a bunch of liars. Too bad for the district, no soup for you.

He has a dick, all right? You have a vagina.

Happy birthday to you.

I started out talking and I learned to sing.

Said the king to the people of San Francisco everywhere.

America's cup, America's cup boating.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Paulson. Next speaker, please.

Moving on. Our main story tonight concerns local news. The trusted place

people go to find traffic, weather, and here in New York, the single greatest

ten seconds of television this city has ever produced.

At 11, pay more at the grocer, but getting less will tell you how to get

the most.

The fuck are you doing?

Perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

That is Sue Simmons, by the way. She sadly retired in 2012 and has been

missed every day since. Because if any city needs a news anchor with an ability

to say, the fuck are you doing?

It is New York.

We've talked about local news a lot on this show, particularly regarding just

how important it is to any community.

We are constantly featuring local news investigations in our stories, and it

isn't just important in a civic sense, it's a major moneymaker for stations.

Nextar, one of the biggest owners of local stations, said they earned nearly

half their advertising revenue from spots aired during local news

programming. But the need to both inform a community and make money has always

been tricky to reconcile. as you can tell from this 1960s clip of Baltimore's

Channel 11 News.

In Chicago today, white mob threw rocks and bottles at civil rights

demonstrators. That story after this message about Masha's ham.

He's a lover.

No, not the kind you're thinking of.

He's a ham lover.

And all ham lovers know that Masha's hams are the best you can buy.

Okay, that is a...

That's a very awkward transition to have to make. To go from teasing a story

about a racist mob with a Mashes ham logo on your desk, to a man who is, no

matter what he says, definitely fucking that ham.

Which is absurd.

Why would you do that when instead you could be fucking Honeysuckle White's

fresh ground turkey? The only ground turkey that's 93% lean and 100%

fuckable. Get your fuck filled with Honeysuckle.

Now, clearly... Maintaining journalistic independence from advertisers is

critically important.

So important, in fact, it's frequently referred to as the church-state war.

And the FCC has rules requiring broadcast stations to announce when

content has been sponsored or paid for in any way.

Unfortunately, many local stations have either completely broken those rules or

violated the spirit of them through a practice known as sponsored content.

It's where advertising is blended directly into the broadcasts, and it's

both more widespread and harder to detect than you might realize.

So tonight...

Let's talk about sponsored content.

And let's start with the stuff that seems essentially harmless.

People getting paid to hawk products on TV.

There is an industry of lifestyle experts that do this, and here is one of

them explaining the process to potential clients.

Brandigration is where a brand, its product, and the messaging are all

worked together within the content of a show in a pre-planned manner.

With so many shows offering integrated content, it can be hard to choose, but

let's start with local.

Okay, we have a method that helps me get interviews in a snap.

Hi, Michelle.

Hey there, JerBear.

Hi, Michelle.

Hey, girl. How you doing?

See? In an instant, we have access to shows across the nation that are ready

for your content.

Wow. I gotta say, that is pretty impressive.

The only person I can summon with a snap of my fingers is George Clooney. Watch.

There he is.

Hello. Hey, George.

How you doing?

I'm doing fine.

Mm-hmm. What are you doing?

I'm just showing people how I can summon you with a simple snap of my fingers.

Um... I'm eating dinner.

I gave you that power in a limited capacity, John.

Understood, George.

Bye!

Bye.

See? The system works.

But the truth is, Michelle didn't just have the power to make people appear out

of thin air. She also, crucially, had the power to make them play along as she

hawked horrifying products like these.

These are the new French's crispy jalapenos. The one fun idea is to use it

in this jalapeno cheeseburger dip. This is seriously everything you love about a

cheeseburger in dip form. Take a look. Is this thing gorgeous or what? So this

has just hit the party scene. It's the Velveeta shells and cheese life-size

liquid gold fountain.

Okay, so a few things I love are Doritos.

melted cheese sticks and nachos, and now there is a way you can enjoy them all in

one. These are Doritos Loaded. It is a totally new way to experience Doritos.

That's a really fun twist on a snack idea, isn't it? No!

No, it isn't! Now, that product has since been discontinued, probably

because it looks less like a snack and more like someone deep-fried a fidget

spinner. And you probably assumed Michelle was getting paid to do that,

but interestingly, the station... was also getting paid to have her on. And

while the FCC requires sponsored content like that to be labeled, it has no

requirements for exactly how or for how long.

So for instance, in the case of Doritos Loaded, the disclosure came at the very

end of the segment for just two seconds, with another barely visible reference in

the credits at the end of the program for four more. So six seconds total,

which is incidentally about the same amount of time Doritos Loaded stay in

your body before being forcibly ejected from whatever orifice they're closest

to. This practice can be so lucrative that many big chains have now set up

templates for local shows built around sponsored content.

Scripps has Morning Blend, Tegna has Great Day, Nextar has Daytime, and

Sinclair has what I can only assume is The Muslims Attack at Dawn.

And it's not just brand experts joining by satellite.

Sometimes, local businesses will pay for an interview where they can script the

questions and make sure that they're presented glowingly. Take Jim Hefner.

Until recently, he was a financial advisor in Charlotte, North Carolina,

who was on the local show Morning Break all the time.

and always introduced in very positive terms.

We have Jim Hefner. He is a certified financial planner.

He's the president and CEO of Hefner Financial. He's a best-selling author

and just an all-around great guy.

Thank you so much, Mr. Hefner, for being back. You're a regular here. Thank you

so much, sir, for being back with us. You're welcome. We like when you're

here. We're so glad to have you back, because you're going to help our folks

get financially fit. Welcome back, Mr. Hefner. We love when you are here with

us, sir. This man knows his stuff. That level of enthusiastic cosigning seems

pretty convincing and... until you remind yourself the station was being

paid to say those things about him. It's the reason no one who gets a birthday

cameo from Gary Busey thinks, wow, Gary Busey hopes I make it to 156 years old.

He must be my best friend.

Instead, they think, wow, Craig just wasted $350 getting Gary Busey to wish

me a happy birthday.

He must be my best friend.

And it's worth noting that Hefner and the firm he worked for not only were

ordered to pay a million dollars in an arbitration case over claims he lost

retirees' money, but 22 plaintiffs recently sued him seeking damages

related to the loss of $2.7 million of their investments, with one of them even

saying that he trusted Hefner because he believed the longest-running Charlotte

station would invite on trusted experts.

And yeah, of course you would believe that. People trust their local station.

That's the point here.

And it doesn't stop at these local lifestyle shows.

Companies have also bought their way directly into local news broadcasts.

Back in 2017... Sinclair faced a $13.3 million fine from the FCC over segments

promoting the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which were broadcast more than a

thousand times on local Sinclair stations with no indication whatsoever

that they were sponsored.

Some of these segments aired during the evening news.

And in hindsight, the tone of the reports were suspiciously upbeat.

This complex machine is eradicating cancer without the invasive procedures.

For patients like Jeff, this is Welcome News.

If you're going to have prostate cancer, this is the time to have it. In Salt

Lake City, Utah, Mark Cabell reporting.

That is a hell of a positive spin.

No time like the present to have prostate cancer. What are you waiting

for? And despite how he signed off there... Is Mark Cabell actually

reporting? Because in retrospect, it seems more like Mark Cabell is parroting

the absurdly sunny cancer propaganda of his business daddy's favorite money

friend. But I will say this, at least that is an instance of a broadcaster

acting so egregiously, the FCC was able to take action.

A lot of the time, stations are doing just enough to stay the right side of

the FCC, but that does not mean that they're not doing massive harm to their

credibility. Because even when a sponsorship is...

to be properly disclosed. I'd argue that there are certain businesses local

stations should not be selling themselves out for.

Especially when it comes to medicine. Because a surprising number of segments

on these shows are enthusiastic, uncritical showcases for expensive

treatments or devices featuring claims that are, to put it charitably,

medically dubious. Like this product, which made it onto a regular morning

newscast in Utah.

Today we're talking about technology aimed to help men with a serious issue.

Stephanie and Dustin Wolf, the co-inventors of the world's first

clinically tested home-use shockwave device to treat erectile dysfunction and

cellulite. It's called the Rocket. This is the Rocket. So the Rocket works on

the principle of low-intensity sound wave therapy, which has actually been

around in Europe for about 25 years. It's very effective, it's safe, and it's

the technology's FDA-recognized. Okay.

First... That vibrating tank missile looks utterly terrifying.

And while it has since been rebranded from the Rockets to the Phoenix, I'm not

sure put this bird that destroys itself in fire near your penis is really much

of an upgrade.

But second, what does FDA recognized even mean there?

It definitely does not mean it's FDA cleared, much less approved.

And the FDA actually told us the Phoenix is registered with them as a therapeutic

massager though.

not as a device to treat erectile dysfunction.

And at this point, I legally have to tell you, the manufacturer of the

Phoenix says they make no explicit claims about treating ED.

Which is a little odd, because their own website claims the Phoenix offers proven

technology to make your penis harder, and that you can complete this

innovative ED treatment in the privacy of your home. All of which they

presumably feel justifies its price tag of holy shit, $879.

But that is not the point here. The point is, if you're going to allow that

product into the body of your local newscast, you might want to have some

very pointed questions ready and not end the segment like this.

Of course, if you want to get more information, where do they find it

online, guys? Oh, they can go to getmyrocket.com. There you go. Get that

help you need for whatever ailment you've got right there. Yeah.

Use the rocket for whatever ailment you've got, especially if that ailment

is having, let's say, around 879 too many dollars.

And the thing is, that is far from the only weird medical product that's been

presented uncritically during sponsored segments.

Denver's Mile High Living featured a spa owner promoting this exciting new

treatment. Mona Lisa touches the first FDA-cleared laser to treat the vagina,

and in doing so, it treats the symptoms of vaginal atrophy. So the procedure

itself, is it painful?

No, it's typically what you'll feel are mild vibrations.

I tease, the next day you might feel like you have a sunburned vagina, but

it's just healing.

Oh, that's okay, then. It's just your typical everyday sunburned vagina, and

only caused by a laser. So really just your typical everyday laser-roasted

genitalia, which is just healing.

from the laser you deliberately burned it with, it being the inside of your

vagina. Your run-of-the-mill laser-charred vagina.

And if using a laser as a medical pseudo-dildo seems like a scary thing to

do, you have good instincts.

Because over a year before that segment aired, the FDA issued a safety alert

making it clear that they have not cleared or approved for marketing any

energy-based devices to treat vaginal atrophy, and applying energy-based

therapies to the vagina may lead to vaginal burns, scarring, and recurring

or chronic pain.

And the problem is, segments with dicey medical claims are just...

everywhere. Recently, the FDA has warned about the use of unapproved stem cell

therapies, which they say can be harmful.

But you would not know that to watch some of these shows.

Here is a segment from Good Morning Texas, featuring a doctor who's been

disciplined multiple times by the state medical board for separate issues,

claiming his stem cell therapy can treat things like MS and Parkinson's, despite

the fact that stem cells have never been approved to treat any neurological

disorder. And it's not just him. Here is a naturopathic doc. making similarly

baseless claims on a station in Arizona.

So what kind of conditions are you treating with this? So we can treat so

many different kinds of conditions.

Um, we can do it to joints. We've been doing a lot of that. We do a lot of

systemic things as well, including had a patient with Crohn's disease recently,

had a patient with heart disease who was in severe heart failure.

Both of them, within a week of getting these stem cells, are just feeling great

and improved to almost normal.

Wow. Yeah.

Wow, indeed.

That card there suggested he can treat Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, autism, MS,

and ALS. It seems the only thing his stem cells can't do is help that station

proofread their list of conditions can stem cell therapy benefit, because other

than that, got you, they covered have.

And look, while there is no way of knowing exactly how many people are

watching these shows as they air, that's not really the point, as this marketing

executive at Nexstar explained to potential advertisers.

Now, here's the deal. Most people think, okay, so I go on the TV show. I'm on TV.

Great. This is awesome.

Airs at 4 o'clock. I go on. Great.

People see me. Okay, so this is cool.

I'm going to tell you right now, when you actually go on and do that, that

isn't even the cake.

That's just the icing.

You know what the cake is?

The video file.

At the end, you're gonna have a four or five minute video file.

And you're gonna do what with it? Post it everywhere!

Okay, first of all, what is that motion?

That is unnecessarily gross.

This isn't how you represent cake and icing.

This is how you bring a mash's ham to orgasm. You give it the old wiggle and

squeeze, and then a twist and a snap.

Oh, shit.

What is it?

Sorry, George.

I'm sorry. That one was genuinely an accident. I was just trying to show

people how to bring a mash's ham to orgasm. That's not how you do it.

Oh.

Hmm. I guess that's good information to have. The point is, though, that

marketing executive is right.

The cake is the video file.

And companies will take that video and run with it. Remember that... a

naturopathic doctor who claims stem cells are a treatment for Alzheimer's

and autism?

Here is his website, which proudly features the many times he was given an

uncritical platform on trusted local TV.

And you might think viewers should be smart enough to approach anything on

these shows with skepticism. The thing is, though...

Many of these stations also swap figures between their newsroom and their

sponsored content shows.

At ABC4 Utah, for instance, Suray Chin is both the channel's chief medical

correspondent and a host of the sponsored content show, Good Things

Utah. And it really does feel like a line is getting blurred there.

And look, ideally, stations wouldn't engage in this practice at all, or at

the very least, their disclosures would be harder for their viewers to miss, and

they do significantly more work to make sure that if they are letting someone

buy their way onto their channel and present something as real, that it's

not, in fact, total nonsense.

Because right now, it's far too easy to make a ridiculous product that makes

outlandish claims and get it onto local TV.

And the reason I know that is... we did.

We started a company called Venus Inventions and created something called

The Venus Veil, an absurd medical product based on technology that

absolutely doesn't exist.

We set up this website and even hired an actress to brandigrate the shit out of

The Venus Veil into shows it had no business being on.

Did it work?

I don't know.

You tell me, ABC4Utah.

I am so excited to talk with Erica Hernandez with the Venus Veil, a

revolutionary new product on the line. What exactly is it? I'm so intrigued.

I'm so glad you are intrigued.

So this is the Venus Veil. It is the world's first sexual health blanket.

Yep. That was on ABC4 last Friday. And I would love to tell you that it was

difficult to get on, but it really wasn't.

And remember, that's their chief medical correspondent.

And it seems striking that she didn't have any follow-ups on claims that we

made about the veil that you would hope a medical correspondent would

immediately take issue with.

The veil is being designed with the hope that it will precisely draw out the

natural alkaline undercurrents of the vagina and initiate a low-grade state of

what we call micro-death, which sounds incredibly scary, but that's actually

just restarting that area's natural life cycle. It's using this field of

magnetogenetics I was talking about and also a technology that's been around for

a really long time that was pioneered in Germany about 80 years ago. So this is

full of cutting-edge technology, but it... It just looks like a blanket.

Yeah, it does.

And that's because it is. It is just a blanket.

Also, technology that was pioneered in Germany about 80 years ago?

I would have some questions about that particular period in German history.

And I know that looks bad, but let's be fair here.

It's just an isolated example.

There was no way another station was gonna fall for this, right?

Absolutely no way.

Is there K-View Austin?

Because... You wouldn't have let us pay to directly follow your 10 p.m. local

news this Thursday, would you?

There's no way that happened.

It includes some pretty interesting technology.

Yes, it does.

So the team behind the veil was inspired by the field of magnetogenetics. But

basically, your blood is full of iron, but it's dispersed in such a way that it

isn't affected by normal magnets.

So the idea behind the veil is that with the right blend of proprietary magnetic

fibers, you can create a self-contained magnetic field that re-stimulates blood

flow and gets you feeling like your normal self again.

Very interesting.

Is it?

Is it interesting? Or is that... obvious bullshit that definitely shouldn't have

been on in the same hour of coverage as the ceasefire in the Middle East, a

shortage of lifeguards in local public pools, and an investigative piece on

criminal justice and bail reform.

One of these things is not like the others, and it's definitely our Nazi era

fuck blanket.

But surely, if you saw this blanket in person, in a studio, then you would know

not to enthusiastically co-sign on the completely baseless claims...

being made right in front of you. You would protect your viewers from that

happening.

Wouldn't you, Denver's Mile High Living?

this is meant to treat sexual conditions but a lot of people are really

embarrassed to talk about their sexual health right so it was designed to be

something that's really discreet and also really stylish so you can have it

in your home and it really i mean could it look less like a medical product yeah

no it doesn't look like that you know again it's one of those things i think a

lot of people right now are looking to enhance their lives but they also don't

want anything too invasive so yeah this is something where again you're not

needing a prescription or anything like that as well yes well thank you erica

thanks so much Thank you so much for coming in today. We appreciate it. Thank

you so much for having me. Thanks for making it so easy. Yeah, super easy.

Yeah, super easy.

You can even argue way too easy.

Because the truth is, none of this was nearly difficult enough to get onto TV.

And it wasn't even that expensive.

That cost just $2,800.

This one cost $2,650.

And this one only cost $1,750.

It was all shockingly affordable.

And sadly, on some stations...

didn't even look that out of place, and that is not good.

Because as we have said for years now, the integrity of local news is crucially

important, and there is real harm for everyone if that integrity is damaged.

So to the owners of these stations who are selling them out at a depressingly

cheap price, I have a simple question. If I may quote the words of a very wise

news anchor, the fuck are you doing?

That's our show. Thank you so much for watching. If you want to see our Venus

veil segment in full, the whole cake, if you will, you can go to venusinventions

.com. Good night.

Are there any side effects to this at all? You might feel a little bit of

tingling, but we liken it to sort of what you might feel if you're standing

over a really loud subwoofer or have, like, a tight seat belt on.

Bye.